Rodeo rides back into Hawke’s Bay as part of national circuit for first time in 15 years

Joseph Whitelock riding Mombo in the saddle bronc event at the 2021 rodeo in Clearwater, Nebraska, in the United States. Photo / Supplied

Fifteen years since Hawke’s Bay was last on the New Zealand Rodeo Association national circuit, a group of young cowboys and cowgirls are bringing rodeo back to Hawke’s Bay.

While Hawke’s Bay still has events such as bull riding in Central Hawke’s Bay and a division two rodeo in Mohaka, the last open division rodeo on a national circuit in Hawke’s Bay was held in 2008, at the Hawke’s Bay Showgrounds.

These days a group of young cowboys and cowgirls who travel around New Zealand to compete in open-division rodeos on the national circuit, as well as compete in overseas events, have decided after a few years of talking about it, they want to host an event in front of a home crowd.

Leading the charge is 27-year-old cowboy Joseph Whitelock, who said the group came to the decision of “let’s get into it and we might as well give it a crack”.

Joseph Whitelock from Te Hauke with retired bucking horse Boomerang. Photo / Paul Taylor

After forming a committee the group has laid the foundations and is moving on to the next steps, which include finding a place local to Hastings to host the event.

Whitelock explained the group is looking for somewhere close to Hastings town to make the event accessible for everyone.

Due to the pressure the rural community is still under after Cyclone Gabrielle, Whitelock said the group had decided to plan the event for next season, and is aiming to host the Hawke’s Bay Rodeo mid-to-late November 2024.

“After everything that’s happened we want to build a big event for the rural community, to come off the farms and into town, go to the rodeo and take their minds off things and enjoy themselves a little bit,” Whitelock said.

The Hawke’s Bay Rodeo will take place over one day and will include both open-division and second-division competitions, with second-division events running in the morning and open-division events in the afternoon.

Open and second division are two competitive classes in rodeo. Second division is for cowboys and cowgirls, 15 years or older, who then have to win a “break open” amount in a second-division event to move into the higher open division.

Joseph Whitelock, riding Shark Attack in the saddle bronc event at the 2021 Outram Rodeo. Photo / Supplied

Being on the national circuit the Hawke’s Bay Rodeo will have competitors in the eight rodeo events of bareback, steer wrestling, barrel racing, team roping, rope and tie, saddle bronc, bull riding and breakaway roping.

Whitelock, who competes in saddle bronc, said the rodeo and its events were a way for the “rural community to show off old traditions, come together and put on an event and pretty much showing the crowd a good time”.

“Saddle bronc goes all the way back to how horses were broken in back in the day,” he said.

Along with showcasing traditions that date back to the American western frontier, the rodeo also tests the skill and speed of the cowboys and cowgirls.

“The stock is another class on their own, they are performers as well, and they do just as good a job as the cowboys and cowgirls do,” Whitelock added.

New Zealand Rodeo Cowboys Association president Lyal Cocks said the NZRCA is excited about the prospect of rodeo coming back to Hawke’s Bay and explained a Hawke’s Bay Rodeo will take the number of events run throughout New Zealand to 34 and will be another opportunity for the contestants to compete in the sport they love.

Paddy Church, from Turangi, competed in the division two bull riding event during the last full Hawke's Bay Rodeo, in 2008, at the Hawke's Bay Showgrounds in Hastings. Photo / Paul Taylor

When asked about the young group pushing for a Hawke’s Bay Rodeo, Cocks said he was “proud and very appreciative of the rodeo people who are stepping up and establishing this club”.

Cocks believes contestants will travel from throughout New Zealand to compete in Hawke’s Bay alongside the local contestants, and the Hawke’s Bay crowd will be treated to top-class competition in a range of exciting events with contestants of all ages and gender.

“As always, the opportunity for the home crowd to cheer on their local cowboys and cowgirls will be a big attraction,” the NZRCA president added.

It’s not only Cocks expecting the Hawke’s Bay Rodeo to draw a big crowd — Whitelock is adamant people will travel from as far north as Kaitaia and as deep south as Invercargill to compete, and hopes to have 4000 to 5000 spectators turn out.

While the main crowd will be heavily rural, Whitelock said the event would definitely be worth checking out.

“The rodeo is a great family event, there will be a lot of wows and that sort of stuff; for people who have never really experienced it, the rodeo will definitely be something new and different in a good way for them to enjoy,” the cowboy said.

When asked if he was worried about protesters, Whitelock said, “It’s something that we have always sort of dealt with and we encourage them to also come along and get a better understanding of what we do.”

Joseph Whitelock, riding Peterbuilt in the saddle bronc event at the 2021 Taupō NFR Rodeo. Photo / Supplied

“There is a lack of information out there and people don’t really understand, and they just tend to listen to whoever has the biggest mouth.

“We invite everyone to come along and get a better understanding of the event, don’t believe everything you hear,” he said.

Whitelock went on to say the rodeo animals get a better life than most other animals everywhere else.

For example, one of the Whitelock family’s semi-retired bucking horses, named Boomerang, spends all year round “just feeding on good grass. She is quiet as, you can go up and pat her, and you can just tell she’s enjoying life out here and she is not worried at all”, the 27-year-old explained.

“Boomerang was originally a hunting horse that kept bucking off her owner; however, she had no bad nature, she just liked to buck, so instead of becoming dog food, she became a saddle bronc horse.”

When Whitelock would put Boomerang in a rodeo chute ready to buck her out, he said, “She was so calm she would almost fall asleep and then as soon as you open the gate she would just explode, she loved it.”

The young cowboy also went into detail about the flank ropes he uses on his saddle bronc horses, explaining “The flank rope is soft and made of sheepskin, it is never pulled extremely tight, it just sits firm, and there is no way that that hurts them, it just encourages them to kick out, the flank rope doesn’t make them buck, it just makes the buck itself a bit better.

“If anything the flank rope tickles them like a person tickled under the armpit, and if you actually pull it too tight, the horse won’t buck, so it’s never extremely tight,” Whitelock said.

He believes “if it wasn’t for rodeo all these animals wouldn’t be here, we have given them a second chance, as they are not fit for any other sport and would be turned into everyone’s dog food”.

Whitelock welcomes everyone for a day out at the Hawke’s Bay Rodeo and said, “It’s for everyone, if it’s not your cup of tea that’s fine, but if anyone wants to come definitely come and have a look. Everyone is welcome.”